Conscientious Consumption Driven By Gen Y

Corporate giving fell in 2009 in the wake of the Great Recession, according to an annual survey of 144 companies by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP). But in its
most recent survey, the firm found that 60% of companies increased giving from 2009 to 2011. Education and disaster relief, especially, saw increases from corporate giving. Experts in corporate
philanthropy say that being seen as a good corporate citizen is increasingly viewed as good business. CECP Director Margaret Coady says much of the demand for conscientious consumption comes from
young consumers who almost universally had a service requirement to graduate high school and who grew up in a world of ubiquitous causes, from breast cancer research to the environment.